OCEANSIDE — Tri-City Medical Center has officially opened its renovated, redesigned emergency department, marking the completion of a multi-year priority project for the North County hospital.
The emergency department officially reopened on May 14 after the hospital received state clearance.
“This Emergency Department belongs to the community that built it,” said Jennifer Paroly, president of the Tri-City Hospital Foundation.
The reimagined emergency department was built almost entirely using Tri-City Hospital Foundation’s $5.2 million philanthropic campaign, which collected donations from neighbors, local businesses and partners over the past several years. David C. Copley Foundation and the Conrad Prebys Foundation were early contributors to the project.
According to staff, Tri-City’s emergency department is one of the top-performing stroke and heart attack receiving centers in Southern California as well as a critical emergency care resource for thousands of North County residents.
“For years, our donors told us the same thing: take care of the ER, because the ER takes care of all of us,” Paroly said. “Today we get to say thank you in the most meaningful way possible – by opening a space that will serve our neighbors at their most vulnerable moments, for decades to come.”
Renovations include:
- Increased treatment capacity to ease bottlenecks during peak demand and reduce ambulance diversions;
- A modernized triage zone designed to accelerate treatment from arrival;
- A redesigned waiting and family area; and
- An upgraded major treatment area with modernized equipment and better sightlines for nurses.
“Every design decision started with one question: how will this help a patient get the best care,
in the most efficient, patient-centric manner?” said Dr. Cary Mells, emergency department medical director. “For our team, this isn’t just a renovation, it’s a reinvention of how we deliver emergency care to North County. We now have the space, the technology, and the workflow to take care of more patients, more quickly, with the high quality that each and every patient deserves.”
Completion of the redesigned emergency department has come at a time when the hospital continues its multi-year transformation to improve services for the community.
Separately, voters will decide on June 2, through Measure H, whether the hospital may partner with Sharp HealthCare.
Key components of Sharp’s proposal include a long-term lease of the hospital, assumption of all Tri-City’s assets and liabilities, a capital commitment of at least $100 million to cover facility upgrades and strategic investments, and plans to implement Epic’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.
